The following couple of days could have been crafted out of a dream or a fantasy they were so perfect. Most of the students had departed home for the Christmas holidays just after lunchtime the day after the Christmas ball, and the castle was encased with a kind of stillness. It was almost too calm... Apart from Draco and Hermione, and all of the teachers, there were only six other students remaining. With no classes, hardly any students and the teachers amusing themselves in whatever they wanted; Draco and Hermione had free run of the castle. The only times that they actually saw any of the other students, or the teachers, was at meal times. This meant that Draco and Hermione could spend as much time as they wanted with each other.

They spent hours taking walks around the snowy grounds, wrapped up to the hilt in coats and scarves, always returning to the castle with very pink faces from the biting winter wind. On the days that the snow was hammering down onto the already icy grounds, they stayed inside - occupying their time in the library, or the owlery, or in a deserted classroom. Once, Hermione took Draco down to the kitchens to meet the house elves, but they were all very busy in the run up to Christmas, so it was only Kreacher who took the time to speak to them.

It felt like they could spend all day in each other's company and still had more unanswered questions, there were still topics to discuss and subjects to pick over. Draco seemed to have a new favourite subject to talk about - the future... He explained that he really would like to be a healer, and perhaps in that role he would be able to make up for some of the things that he had done in the past. Hermione, too, shared some of her dreams and aims for the future; how she knew she wanted to do something about campaigning for equality between all magical creatures. Draco felt privileged that Hermione was comfortable enough to share these kind of hopes with him. Despite it being early days for the two of them as a couple, in his mind's eye he could see a vision of the two of them in the future; him a qualified healer and Hermione working in the Ministry of Magic to improve the rights of the underprivileged. And the thing that made Draco happiest about this vision, was that he could see the two of them together - and happy.

When Christmas morning dawned, Hermione awoke alone; she was the only person from her dorm room who had decided to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas. The house elves had clearly been in during the night as there was a pile of presents at the foot of her bed; for a second she felt a pang of regret, the memory that in the past she would have gone through to the boys dorm to visit Harry and Ron on Christmas morning, she would have been up earlier than they were and she would watch them opening their presents. She thought of them back at the burrow, the two of them and Ginny, opening their presents together, laughing and joking with the rest of the family, Mrs. Weasley's cooking; it made her feel like the only one left out. But then she remembered Draco, and it felt like a flame had been lit inside her. She would get to spend all of today with Draco; there would be no interruptions from anyone who thought they were stupid being with one another. It could just be the two of them.

This ideal of it being just the two of them was actually rather close to what panned out on Christmas day. As there were only a small number of students the house tables had been dispensed with, and replaced with one larger square table with enough seats to sit all of the staff and students. Hermione and Draco were sat with Professor McGonagall on one side and Professor Vector on the other; this made for an enjoyable lunch - even if by the end of it the two teachers had possibly had too much to drink and were going to lie down in a darkened room for a couple of hours. Seeing as the snow had abated since earlier in the day, they elected to go for a walk around the castle grounds. The air was crisp and the wind was bitter, Hermione could feel her cheeks stinging after only a few minutes outside.

"It's really beautiful, isn't it?" Draco asked, he had paused looking across the lake which looked like a sheet of crystalline glass.

"It is..." Hermione agreed, then she smiled at Draco. "It's even more beautiful being out here with you."

"It's really odd to think that, unless I end up as a teacher which I don't think is likely, today is my last Christmas at Hogwarts." Draco said, not moving from his position as he stared out across the grounds towards the Forbidden Forest, which looked as though it had been dusted with icing sugar.

"Perhaps you're thinking about it the wrong way... Don't think of it as your last Christmas at Hogwarts, think of it as the last Christmas before the big adventure that is the rest of the world." Hermione told him, this mantra was kind of part of what she had been telling herself. "I'm sure there are other places where Christmas will be just as beautiful as it is here."

"Yeah, you're probably right." He nodded.

"I guess it's just a matter of finding those places that make it beautiful." She slipped her hand into his, both of their fingers were cold, but the softness of Draco's skin was comforting.

"Or the people that make them beautiful..." Draco added, and kissed her gently.

"That too..." Hermione whispered.

"Well, hopefully," Draco ground his foot into the layer of fresh snow and it crunched. "I mean - not to sound presumptuous, I just hope that I might have already found the person who makes things beautiful for me..." Draco's face had flushed a dark pink, which Hermione could perceive underneath the coldness of his face; she felt a fluttering sensation inside her at his words.

"I hope so too..."

Christmas dinner at Hogwarts normally consisted of left overs from lunchtime, as there was always a plentiful amount of food; but both Draco and Hermione chose to miss this dinner - they could go to the kitchens later and get something if they wanted. They were still outside in the chilly grounds at half past seven when they were due in for dinner, walking hand in hand around the lake; they had been walking for quite some time now - they had even considered walking right out of the school grounds and into Hogsmeade village, but they weren't sure whether there would be anything open with today being Christmas, so they had meandered around the grounds in every direction possible. The sky was very dark now and the majority of light was shining down from the windows of the castle, seemingly reflecting off the pure white snow; both of them knew that they should go inside before darkness fell fully, but they were enjoying the seclusion - the chance of privacy, despite the freezing cold. When they decided to go back inside the castle, Hermione knew that her toes would be purple when she took off her shoes, they already felt like blocks of ice inside her warm boots, and her fingers were stiff with the cold; Draco must be feeling the same chill from their surroundings.

The warmth of the entrance was almost overwhelming to the two of them in their outside jackets; it was just after eight and they could hear the noise coming from inside the Great Hall where the other occupants of the castle were continuing their merry-making.

"Do you want to join them?" Draco offered, as he pulled off his scarf and his face went very red from the heat. Hermione seemed to consider this option for a few moments, also removing her hat and scarf.

"Can we give it a miss just now?" She asked, "I don't quite feel up to joining a bunch of half-drunk teachers who will want to reminisce about the past..."

"Good point," Draco nodded, then glanced around. "Where shall we go then?"

"Let's just keep walking," She shoved her hat and scarf into one of her pockets, making it bulge out from her side; she grabbed Draco's hand and they made their way up the marble staircase. "I'm sure the teachers mean best, but I don't particularly need reminders." She continued as they reached the next landing up and another set of stairs.

"If they are drunk they may be beyond the point of reminiscing coherently." Draco answered, but he didn't sound all too convince himself.

"Doubt it." Hermione muttered.

"Let's just avoid them for the time being," Draco suggested, jerking his head indicating the next flight of stairs.

"Yeah, go on then," She agreed, slipping her hand into his again and they walked aimlessly up flight after flight of stairs. Neither of them seemed to have any idea about where they were going, but they let their feet carry them.

For all of the places that they could have ended up, it felt like it was meant to be when they ended up at the Room of Requirement. They hadn't really addressed what the room meant for both of them: for Hermione it had been the headquarters of Dumbledore's Army, but for Draco it had been the place where he had allowed Death Eaters into the castle. For one the resistance, for the other the undoing: but this year it had been the place where they had first had a conversation together, and tonight it felt like the beginning of something.

"Shall... Shall we go in?" Hermione suggested rather timidly. "It'd be better than wandering round and round the school corridors."

"Yeah, I think you're right." He responded, in the time that they had been standing considering whether or not they should go in, the door to the Room of Requirement had become visible to them.

It appeared that the room hadn't been able to decide what to turn into; there was a crackling log wood fire set in a fireplace in the wall, with two armchairs pulled close towards it. On the small table near this fire there were a selection of glass carafes and bottles filled with a variety of liquids that looked like meads and spirits; it looked very homely and cosy - just what was needed for warming up after a freezing cold Christmas walk in the grounds. But on the other side of the room there was a bed, complete with hanging curtains around it, it too gave off the air of coziness and warmth. Draco was pulling off his jacket, as a wave of warmth had washed over them as they entered the room; the flush on his face was now due to warmth rather than cold. He perched upon the edge of the bed that the room had provided to remove his shoes.

"Oh my feet feel like they're solid." He moaned, trying to disengage his foot from the flat position it was whilst inside his shoes; Hermione sat down beside him on the bed, and yanked her boots off. She couldn't even see her toes to check (as she had thought) if they were purple, because of the thick grey tights that she was wearing. "I think I need to defrost..." He commented, removing the thicker layers of jacket and jumper, and letting them fall from the bed onto the floor.

"It's a bit like the Gryffindor common room with the fire like that." Hermione told Draco, "At the moment there's only two people in the entirety of the house; we always used to fight over the seats closest to the fire."

"Did you normally win?" Draco asked.

"Sometimes..." Hermione replied, "The only problem about the seats around the fire is that they're armchairs, so the surrounding tables were different heights, so doing homework was interesting."

"Ah we never had that problem." Draco grinned.

"Is that because none of you actually did your homework?" The words had slipped out before she had meant them, she clasped her hand to her face when she realised exactly what she had said; but Draco just laughed rather heartily.

"I guess that's one way of looking at it!" He laughed, "There were writing desks around the edge of the Slytherin common room, and we never needed to fight for them - there was always some free, perhaps that's because most of us ignored homework at some point or another! Would you like a drink?" Draco had stood up from the bed and padded across the rug on the floor to the little table with the glasses and bottles on it.

"If you're having some." She said, Draco poured two glasses of amber liquid from one of the carafes. While he was doing this, Hermione watched him intently; she could feel a kind of breathlessness, or tightness in her chest and she couldn't quite explain it. Maybe it was just the sudden change from cold to heat? Draco carried the glass over and Hermione took it, then he raised his glass and said:

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas!" She repeated, then she paused before taking a drink. "To us..."

"I think that is certainly something to celebrate!" Draco nodded, taking another drink from his glass. "I wouldn't have made it through this term without you." He added.

"You would have." She disagreed.

"You don't seem to understand just how much you being nice to me has meant." Draco sat on the edge of the bed, "You were the only one who cared... And you have changed my life."

"I wouldn't put it that far," Hermione shook her head, as Draco looked at her intently, he was smiling and it extended all the way up into his eyes, so they seemed to sparkle silver.

"Well I would! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't still be at Hogwarts..." Draco began, putting his glass down on the floor. "If it weren't for you, I think I would still be drinking too much. If it weren't for you, those boys could have kicked my head in. If it weren't for you, I would still be trying to obliterate that disgusting mark on my arm. You are the reason I have made it through this term Hermione, don't play it down - or deny it, because it makes you incomparably important in my life! You make me humble; you've taught me what it means to forgive and be forgiven; you make me so very happy, and I want you to know that. I hope that with all of my being that I can make you as happy, and I pray that we can keep going, making each other happy and being happy together, because I've found you now and I can't bear to think about losing you." He sat down on the bed next to Hermione again, and she moved so that she could lean into him.

"You aren't going to lose me, I promise." She reassured him, "I love you Draco." She raised her head so that she could look into his face, and then they were kissing. Perched upon the edge of the bed, Draco's firm arm was wrapped around Hermione's back, holding her into him; and Hermione's hand was on the back of Draco's neck, her fingers cold against the warmth of his skin. Hermione could lose herself in Draco's kiss; the softness of his lips despite the linger of fair stubble which grew around them, the warmth of his tongue against hers. But at this moment she was aware that their position was impeding them somewhat, so very lightly she pulled back, and swung her leg round so that she was straddling Draco's thighs. In the few seconds of their lips being apart, he whispered:

"You're amazing..." Before he could say anything else, however, she was kissing him again. Now she could bury her hand into Draco's short hair, and his hands held onto her waist. She was leaning down towards him, and very, very slowly they began to lower backwards until Draco was lying flat on his back on the bed with Hermione still straddling his legs and leaning down over the top of him. She couldn't tell exactly how long they were in that position, but she had shifted slightly to move even closer to him and she became aware of a lump close to his left leg, and Draco seemed to gasp and pull backwards so they were apart. He stared up into Hermione's face, his eyes searching to see if she had realised why he had pulled back.

"I... um, I..." He stammered, his face flooding with colour in apparent embarrassment about the situation, but as carefully as she could she moved her hand down and squeezed gently at the protrusion through his trousers. He shuddered at the sensation, but she could tell from his face and from the presence of his hands on her back that he wasn't uncomfortable with this.

"Will you stop me if I make you uncomfortable?" She asked gently, and Draco nodded in agreement. She began to unbutton his shirt, and Draco helped by getting the stiffer buttons at his collar. Her hands were cold against the warmth of his torso, as he moved his shoulders to manoeuvre out of the sleeves of his shirt. He could feel anticipation rising inside him as Hermione pulled her own jumper off over her head, ruffling up her hair slightly and revealing a vest that she had on underneath, before also removing that so she was left in her bra. For a second she just sat there, straddling his legs and looking down at him, Draco couldn't tell whether she was worried or excited, but he didn't know how to express that he was completely and utterly in love with her without sounding like a gibbering idiot.

"Hermione, I..." He began, reaching out towards her - but was cut off as Hermione leant down over him to kiss him again. The skin of her chest was soft and warm against his, and the touch of skin against skin made Draco want to hold onto Hermione and never let go. Hermione's hand was very gently making its way down Draco's chest, caressing the contours of his body, until she reached the belt of his trousers. Making her hand as flat as she could she slid it under the band of his boxers, and her fingers came into contact with Draco's penis; he gasped rather breathlessly. "Aaah... Hermione..." He breathed as her fingers tightened - and the touch of her fingers made a plethora of sensations erupt throughout all the nerves in his body.

There was a pause for a second before Hermione withdrew her hand and sat up into a more upright position: "Are you alright with this?" She questioned tenderly, she wanted to make sure that he was ready - that he wasn't just going along with this because he felt pressured to.

"Yeah..." Draco nodded, "As long as you are..." The light in the room around them seemed to have dimmed, making the two of them the entire focus of the light; Draco watched as Hermione flicked her brown wavy hair over her shoulder, she was so graceful... Her features so delicate, as she unbuttoned Draco's jeans and began to pull them down. "Two seconds," He muttered, allowing Hermione to manoeuvre off him so that he could take off his jeans in a more fluid motion; Hermione could also remove her skirt and tights. They were discarded readily, slipping off the edge of the bed - and after their disrobing they flew at each other with all the passion of star crossed lovers. Hermione was on top of Draco, the only barrier between them were the thin layers of material which comprised Draco and Hermione's underwear; but even with that barrier currently intact, neither of them could deny the presence of the other couldn't easily be felt. It felt like a lifetime, the tryst that they were in: skin on skin - their lips connected, their hands roaming freely and unadultaratedly. Draco was aware of the erection that was pressing against his leg, knowing full well that Hermione must be able to feel it too. He pulled away again, allowing himself to be just out of Hermione's reach, so that he could ghost her lips with his if he wanted to, but he wanted to know, he needed to know... "Hermione... Have you...?" His voice died, but he tried again. "Have you ever done this before?"

Hermione shook her head slowly: "Have you?"

"No." He responded, "Do... do you want to?"

"Yeah..." She slid her hand inside the rim of his boxers and pulled them down, exposing Draco's very prominent cock. Disposing of her own underwear, and unhooking her bra from the back with unnerving skill, they were truly naked; and to each other, the most beautiful creations on the earth. All of Hermione's insecurities about her own body - about how her breasts weren't exactly the same size, or how she had some cellulite on the backs of her thighs - vanished underneath Draco's gaze; and he was not worried about the scars from the battle, or from his self harming, he wasn't even worried about the Dark Mark. Hermione had wrapped her fingers around the base of Draco's penis, and cooperating wordlessly, they attempted to position themselves for penetration. The first attempt didn't succeed, but the second did; Hermione felt her breath catch in her chest as Draco's cock slid inside her. Their actions became much more frenzied from this point on; there was something sticky, sweaty about their movements as together they tried to heighten the experience for each other.

Within seconds they had shifted position, Draco pushing over so that he guided Hermione onto her back so he was the one on top. In this position Draco was the one who moved, sliding in and out gently, as his chest was pressed against Hermione's, and her arms wrapped around his chest guiding him, enticing him to push deeper. She couldn't describe it - not in a thousand words; as a feeling of warmth spread through her body right out to her extremities and she trembled from the pressure against her clit by Draco's cock. It was sublime...

Draco seemed to be experiencing similar feelings; a pooling of pressure was building in his lower abdomen - working its way up to a heightened climax. Through the noise of them both moaning softly in pleasure, Draco whispered: "I love you so much, Hermione..."

Hermione's head was nestled in the crook of Draco's shoulder, her hand across his chest as though claiming him as her own. She could feel Draco's chest rising and falling as his breathing slowed down, through his skin she could hear his heartbeat and it was soothing. Both of them had felt the chill when they fell apart, trembling, and with as little movement as they could they had clambered underneath the duvet of the bed.

While their first sexual experience hadn't been perfect as such - there had been a few awkward moments, strange trials of position, and clear noises - Hermione's heart was filled with joy. Draco was lying next to her, dozing slightly, but to Hermione he was the most perfect human being on the planet. Tonight was so special - because despite the slightly awkward moments, they both wanted to make it special - they had been tender and gentle, full of love and respect. It was the beginning of a relationship that would grow and develop, and they would be able to develop together - finding out exactly what the other liked. Draco had already found out that Hermione liked it when he touched her nipples. He wanted to find out everything about her, about everything she liked and how he could fulfil that. She felt like someone had injected amortentia into her veins and it was pumping around her entire body. Her fingers lightly traced lines across Draco's pale stomach; she had been doing this for several minutes when he chuckled.

"That tickles..." He murmured, opening his eyes; Hermione smiled at him, still snugged into his shoulder. "You're beautiful..."

"So are you." Hermione responded.

"I think this is the best Christmas I've ever had..." He told her, "And it's all because of you."

"No, it's because of us." She emphasised, "Because together we are really, really amazing!"

"That I can't deny..." He nodded; Hermione pushed herself up in the bed so she was sitting with her back against the headboard with the duvet hiding her nakedness. Draco followed suit and then stretched his arm out behind her so he could hold her; they sat quietly for a while, then Hermione noticed something about Draco's other arm and she exclaimed:

"Draco!"

"What?" He asked, seemingly startled at her sudden outburst.

"Your arm!" She answered, reaching out her hand and pulling Draco's arm closer to her so she could inspect it. It was the arm with lots of scarring on it, as he had attempted to cut out or cover up the branded Dark Mark - but as she looked down at his arm she could see the scar tissue, most of it healing or fading to a white colour paler than the rest of his skin. However the mark that had once been so black, even underneath his cuts and scars, had almost entirely faded to a very dull grey. "It's... It's faded!" She voiced, rather astonished; Draco's just smiled at her.

"I told you that you have changed my life..." He replied, "It started fading just after we started dating, and since then - the more we have done, the closer we have got, and the happier I have been with you, the lighter the mark has become on my arm..." He explained, "You have changed my life, and allowed me to change. I don't have to be Draco the Death eater anymore; I can be Draco the healer, Draco the person... Your Draco, the luckiest man in the universe because of my amazingly stunning and incredibly compassionate and intelligent girlfriend..." He kissed her cheek softly, "And I love you..." She stroked the side of his face tenderly.

"My Draco..." She whispered, "I love you too..."

A/N: Okay, firstly, if you're been reading from when I first started posting this story - I take my hat off to you! It has been a really long journey and it has taken me much longer than I would have wanted it to... But I have enjoyed writing this, and I'm proud to say that I have completed my first Dramione fic! So I hope you have enjoyed this, I would love to know what you think of this, thank you very much! :)